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Paperwork paperwork and more paperwork

Our baby will be a dual citizen of the US and Canada. However, she needs a lot of paperwork first before this is all settled and we can take her out of the country. First, we need a copy of the long form of her birth certificate. Ordering this reminds me of when we were married and I didn’t realize that you didn’t just receive a copy of your marriage certificate in the mail – you had to order it and pay for it. And you didn’t just order one copy, you basically had to order about 20 if you were going to change your name and get it changed on all of your documentation because they all required original paperwork. And you’ll need it for various reasons for the rest of your life. I just ordered our daughter’s; wish I had thought of this earlier.

It’s probably going to be quicker to get her a Canadian passport first. Then we can work on getting her a US passport, since I think we have to go in person to the US consulate to get her acknowledged as a US citizen, anyway.

I wonder how people manage to put together paperwork to travel with their newborns. You’re basically held hostage in the baby’s country of birth for at least a month to get all of the documentation in order. What about pregnant women who accidentally give birth on planes or while traveling? Are they allowed back to their home countries, or do they have to get paperwork from their consulate first before being allowed to take their babies home?